For sports that use a ball/disk, it is common for a person to practice making contact with (i.e., by hitting, kicking, throwing or striking) the ball/disk to propel it in a direction. Repetition during practice helps achieve precision in making contact with the ball/disk in the proper manner to propel the ball/disk in a desired direction. To be able to practice hitting, kicking, throwing or striking a ball/disk, known systems typically require a user to constantly retrieve the ball/disk, so that it can be hit, kicked, thrown or struck repeatedly.
One way to achieve this is to have another person catch the ball/disk and return it to the hitter. Another way to achieve this is to utilize a net system. Certain known prior art net systems include a rectangular shaped frame with a net mounted across the frame. A ball/disk hit into the net is bounced back, usually not directly to the user unless the ball/disk hit the net at an angle exactly normal to the plane of the net. Therefore, a user of such prior art net system has to, disadvantageously, constantly move to different positions to catch or retrieve the returned ball/disk. Examples of such prior art systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,905,996 and 5,269,527.
Other known prior art net systems utilize a net that is configured into a pocket shape to collect balls, which may then be returned to the user via formed chutes. The need for extraneous structures and parts, such as chutes, disadvantageously make such prior art system difficult to transport or assemble. Examples of such prior art systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,805,070 and 6,620,064.
In general, known prior art net systems disadvantageously require a specific system for each different type of sport. Most prior art net systems have nets with holes that are sized to specific sports. For example, certain such nets include ⅞″ holes for golf, 4″ holes for soccer, or 1-⅛″ holes for lacrosse and baseball. Also, most prior art net systems utilize lightweight net that is not appropriate for use with multiple different types of sports balls/disks.
Therefore, there is a need for a portable multi-sports ball/disk return net system which can be easily assembled and transported and which returns a ball, disk or other sports projectile to a user, such that minimal or no effort by the user is required to retrieve the returned ball/disk/projectile.